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Three in ten German consumers shop via social media. Instagram is used the most: 15 percent of Germans buy directly on the platform or via redirects to online shops. Facebook follows with 14 percent and YouTube with 11 percent.
This emerges from research commissioned by the digital industry association Bitkom. Up to 29 percent of German consumers occasionally buy something on or via social media. After Instagram, Facebook and YouTube come TikTok (8 percent), Pinterest (4 percent) and Snapchat (3 percent). Five platforms in the top six are from the United States. The other one has Chinese roots.
German retailers on social media
A large majority of German retailers use social media to promote their business, according to an earlier Bitkom study from mid-2025: 59 percent then had one or more social media profiles, 31 percent advertised on social media, and 27 percent offered consumers the option to order via social media.
More than a quarter of retailers active in social commerce
Ecommerce in Germany has entered a new growth phase, with expected annual growth of more than 4 percent through to 2030. The importance of social commerce within this is set to increase, German entrepreneurs predict.
TikTok Shop in Germany
Direct social commerce has received a boost with the launch of TikTok Shop in Germany at the beginning of last year. The platform started cautiously, but has since built up a fairly strong position, especially among younger Germans, according to Bitkom. Among 16- to 29-year-olds, TikTok is the third social commerce platform, with an adoption rate of 20 percent, behind Instagram (34 percent) and YouTube (23 percent).
One in five young Germans shops on TikTok
Among these younger internet users in Germany, 48 percent already use social media to shop online, compared with 29 percent across all age groups. In addition to the platforms mentioned, the US-based Whatnot is also tapping into that growth.